In America we speak...

if you answered "American" you're
a. French
b. Wrong
c. All of the Above

We speak English in America. At least that's what I thought before I got here. I can't tell you how many times I've been asked how to say a particular word in "American."

I find that here in France I'm constantly reminded of just how American I am. Last week while washing dishes in a French friend's apartment I was made to feel singlehandedly responsible for global warming because of the water pressure I was using. Apparently I waste a lot of water while doing dishes. I told my friend not to worry because the earth something like 70% water (or is that the human body?) and I was then reminded by my friend that only 1% of that water is potable.I bet if I were French that I'd inherently know to use less water while washing dishes.

Today in the teacher's lounge I was organizing a bunch of papers I had for these different lessons I had planned. A few teachers were watching me and started laughing at the amount of paper I had. They said "Welcome to France..here to do one thing you need a whole bunch of different pieces of paper." And it's true. I've noticed just how much paper is consumed/wasted in my schools and it's so surprising because I thought the French were better about things like not wasting paper and recycling. I kind of chuckled and said to the teachers "and they say that us Americans are the ones who are wasteful of everything." They laughed and said they definitely waste more paper but I think I'll keep comments like that to myself next time.

Then there are the English assistants from England. I have just as many cultural/language exchanges with them as I do with the French. Today over lunch Tessa (an English assistant from England) and I were comparing notes on teaching and what we were going to do with our kids. This inevitably leads to moments where one of us does not understand the other. One time when we were planning a Christmas lesson I told her we could have them make cards on "construction paper" and she was really confused. I said "you know, color paper, a little thicker than regular paper, we call it construction paper." She said "oh, do you mean card?" She thought "construction paper" was hilarious and couldn't wait to share it with the other English girls. But really, card?? What's that all about?

Another time she was telling me about her friend's apartment and how cool it is that she has an airing cupboard. Tessa expected me to be equally excited about the existence of this airing cupboard but I just stared at her blankly.
Laura: What the hell is an airing cupboard?
Tessa: You know, it's room where the boiler is and it has shelves and you put your towels and sheets there so they stay warm. What do you guys call the room where the boiler is?
Laura: Umm, the boiler room? Duh.
Tessa: You Americans are so literal.

We also had an extended conversation about "I've got" vs. "I have." In England you'd say "I've got a headache" but in America you'd more likely say "I have a headache." They mean the same thing and we even counted - it's technically the same number of words. But clearly Tessa didn't agree with me that the English version was just too many words to say the same thing.

Tessa saw my big bobby pin (which they have some weird name for) and laughed at the size of it. She commented on how everything is "bigger and better" in America. They're not always bigger and not always better, but I'm inclined to agree with her.

Kid quote of the day: Laura, do you know Queens?
Laura: Yes, that's where I live! How do you know about Queens?
Kid: I have a cassette on New York. They talk about Queens and Queens Boulevard.

That wasn't really a great quote but it was so random for this kid to ask me about Queens of all places!

Happy Birthday to Me!

Last Thursday we had an early birthday dinner since I was going to be in Paris for my actual birthday. It was the idea of our French friends that I should cook dinner for everyone since it was my birthday....So I did. For some reason though, they decided the menu. I finally put my foot down when I was about to buy the 18 eggs that their dessert recipe was calling for. We bought one of those ready-made cakes you just have to bake (how American of me). There was no sign of frosting in the French supermarket, it doesn't seem to be something they do. All I really wanted was a good old fashioned birthday cake with frosting. You can't stick a candle in a crême brulée!

Anyhow, we had a great time with our little random meal and my Laval friends all got me Star Academy (think "American Idol") or cow-themed presents. It's not that they think I'm a cow or anything, it's just that us English assistants are obsessed with the French obsession with cows. There are images of cows on just about everything and they are huge consumers of dairy products. So we have a running joke about cows.

I left the next morning for Paris. Davin came from New York for the weekend and I took him to eat my favorite crêpes, my favorite hot chocolate, my favorite goat cheese salad, etc. Since Davin had never been on the sightseeing cruise on the Seine I went on it for the umpteenth time. Even though this was at least the sixth time I've done the cruise Davin was the one that was falling asleep, not me. I got to see a bunch of my Paris friends the night of my birthday and that was really nice too. It was a great weekend.

I still want the birthday cake though.